4. Bynum could've used those charged words “trust issues” sooner than with reporters after the Lakers went down, 2-0, to Dallas. Bynum was complaining mostly about the defensive rotations at the time – the players actually got along well – but even if Bynum had vented earlier or directly to his teammates instead of publicly, it's iffy how much all these older guys would've even listened to the kid. Bear in mind also that he surrendered his voice by postponing surgery and making them wait so long for him. But speaking of trust, Bynum needs to embrace passing, especially out of double-teams. He was the only rotation player not to have more assists than turnovers in the regular season, and in the playoffs he was atrocious (eight assists vs. 20 turnovers).

Andrew Bynum provided the Lakers with increased focus in late February, but he could've done more before that -- and in the playoff sweep vs. Dallas. Check out the captions for 10 things Bynum could've done differently to win the Lakers another NBA title.

10. Bynum could've – obviously – had surgery on his right knee sooner than 41 days after last season ended. Not only did it set a tone of complacency long before the new season was even upon the Lakers, it prevented Bynum from taking as much ownership of this team as it needed. The Lakers needed something new, something better – and up-and-coming Bynum was the only answer on that front.

1. Bynum could've better understood how to play the role of enforcer on a team that flat-out stopped scaring the rest of the league. Bynum's misplaced aggression led to cheap shots, and cheap shots don't intimidate – they embolden. Bynum blasting J.J. Barea in the final game is the enduring image of the weak-minded Lakers this season, and for all the growth he gave the team, Bynum did not grow or assert himself enough to prevent opponents from coming at the Lakers this season with pride and daring.

2. Bynum could've called out Kobe Bryant for not practicing. That would've shaken things up, huh? A full-fledged Kobe-Shaq II – Kobe is surely shuddering at the thought that he would be Shaq in this scenario – would've given the Lakers a whole new edginess when they were too flat all season. Scandal never broke because Bynum truly doesn't feel that sort of venom toward Bryant, but obviously Bynum was uneasy about the quality of and participation in practice this season.

6. Bynum could've passed out copies of “The New Psycho-Cybernetics,” which he read during the playoffs, to all his teammates. They sure could've used a fresh evaluation of their self-images – as the book suggests – before picking up the pieces of their fractured two-time defending-champion egos. Few would've projected it would be Bynum ahead of Pau Gasol to achieve stronger mental health via Phil Jackson's meditation and mind games, but that's what happened this season.

8. Bynum could've hit first instead of last in the Western Conference semifinals. He expressed disappointment that he let the Mavericks attack him first in Game 1 – vowing he would make up for it. He wound up delivering his big blow out of flagrant-foul frustration in the Game 4 blowout. Shaquille O'Neal used to make it a point to attack first in playoff series against opponents whose practicing and scouting could in no way duplicate his size and power. Bynum could've sent an early message, but instead Dallas' confidence swelled from the start.

5. Bynum could've realized sooner than the All-Star break that he was ready to embrace defense and rebounding, which really solidified the Lakers in the same way that Tyson Chandler's willing dirty work changed Dallas' culture this season toward defense. It's no coincidence that Phil Jackson hyped Chandler back then as someone who should've been an All-Star – which remains one of Bynum's great aspirations.

7. Bynum could've told the Lakers he was tired of the trade rumors haunting him all his life and demanded a trade to Denver for Carmelo Anthony. He could've done it at a news conference in the same Orange County parking lot where Kobe Bryant years ago urged the Lakers to ship him out. And Bynum could've announced at that news conference that he really just wants the trade so he can play in Denver's cold-weather climate and wear those UGG slippers he loves. My point: The ‘Melo trade stuff was a joke; Bynum couldn't have gone anyway. But I will say he does really love those slippers.

3. Bynum could've practiced harder and better. After it was all over, he complained about the team's weak practices this season, but he didn't do anything to change that once he joined the mix. He was still out of shape for some time. His brittleness makes it difficult for him really to energize a team, because he can't go all out in non-game situations – no matter that he's supposed to be the young buck.

9. Bynum could've played far sooner than he did even after the delayed surgery and more complicated procedure of reattaching cartilage instead of removing it. Bynum missed the first 24 games of this season (pictured here Nov. 17 during his pregame workout in Detroit), with Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom admittedly dragging from the overtime he caused them. Derrick Caracter couldn't compete, and Theo Ratliff's knee gave out, too. Bynum wanted to be careful based on his injury history, but there was significant in-house disappointment and resentment over how perfect he wanted to feel before playing.

The Miami Heat won both regular-season games from the Lakers, leaving Kobe Bryant denouncing his teammates’ work ethic after the first and heading back on the court for late-night personal shooting practice after the second.

The Dallas Mavericks won all four postseason games from the Lakers, smashing the three-peat dream and leaving both Lamar Odom and Andrew Bynum committing flagrant fouls of wild frustration in the final game.

There’s still no doubting the Lakers could’ve been the best again in the 2010-11 NBA season, but the Heat and Mavericks were the ones in the NBA Finals because they did a lot more things right – especially as the playoffs neared and began – than the Lakers.

Now that Dallas has finished it off, the title is officially the Lakers’ no more – and I’ll break down where each of the Lakers’ nine rotation players failed this season in a slideshow series listing 10 things each guy could’ve done to get the Lakers back to the NBA Finals.

Click on the photo to page through 10 things Bynum could’ve done this season to make a difference. For the previous list of Bryant’s 10 things, click here.

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